1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to portable electronics devices, such as handheld computers. Specifically, the present invention relates to removable bezels that can be selectively removed from a keypad structure of the portable electronics device so as to facilitate convenient cleaning of the electronics device.
2. The Prior State of the Art
During recent decades, electronics devices have become smaller, more lightweight, and more widely used in a variety of industries and endeavors. Early computers used vacuum tubes and other large-scale components and, accordingly, were large devices that were immovable fixtures and at times could fill an entire room. With the advent of liquid crystal display devices, integrated circuits and silicon semiconductor chips, computers and other electronics devices have steadily increased in computing power and decreased in size.
In recent years, the demand for access to computing power, coupled with the significant decrease in computer size has yielded portable electronics devices, such as laptop computers, which enable users to carry computing resources that previously were limited to relatively fixed, desktop computers. Special-purpose computing and communication devices have also been developed, including digital personal assistants, cellular phones, global positioning system receivers, and any number of other electronics devices.
This proliferation has taken computers and electronics devices from the relatively sterile conditions of the laboratory and the office to environments and industries where the devices are more likely to experience dirty or adverse conditions, including transportation environments, manufacturing, agriculture, natural resource industries, etc. Some electronics devices have been designed specifically for use outdoors and in other dirty or unpredictable environments. These devices are typically rugged, and can withstand some amount of vibration and shock, dust, dirt, and exposure to water or foreign material.
Most rugged electronics devices include keyboards or other keypad structures that enable users to input information or to manipulate the information displayed on a display device. Practically all keypads share a common feature of movable keys that are depressed by the user to input information. The interface between the movable keys and the fixed housing of the electronics devices causes dirt to accumulate, which can eventually interfere with the operation of the keys or other parts of the device. Moreover, there are often gaps or spaces between movable keys and the housing that can allow water, dust, or dirt to enter the interior of an electronics device. Lettering and/or numbering is also typically printed or formed on keypad structures, on or near the keys. Providing surfaces on which lettering and numbering can be printed increases the complexity of the keypad structure, thereby further complicating the process of cleaning the device. In addition, the need to clearly view lettering and numbering on keypad structures increases the importance of providing devices that can be conveniently cleaned when they become dirty.
Conventional portable electronics devices often have keypad structures that are difficult to clean. The movable keys and the associated housing sometimes represent the weak link that prevents electronics devices from being fully resistant to water, dust, and other adverse environmental conditions. This problem is made more serious by the increasing demand for rugged electronics devices that allow computing resources to be accessed in any environment.
The present invention relates to a removable bezel assembly associated with a keypad structure for use with electronics devices, particularly portable devices that are intended to be used in environments where exposure water, dust, dirt, or other adverse conditions can be expected. The bezel is removable so as to permit convenient cleaning of both the bezel and the keypad structure with which it is associated.
According to one aspect of the invention, an electronics device, such as a handheld computer or another portable electronics device, has a set of keys arrayed on a keypad structure. The keys can be depressed by users to allow the users to input information. In order to cause the electronics device to withstand exposure to dust, dirt, or the like, the movable keys of the keypad structure and the housing in which they are arrayed are covered with a pliable protective structure, such as one formed from a polymeric material. The pliable protective structure substantially conforms to the housing and the keys in a manner such that users can distinguish individual keys and can depress the keys by pushing on the surface of the pliable material situated atop the ends of the keys.
A removable bezel, typically formed from a substantially rigid material, is removably positioned over the housing and the polymeric material over the region of the display device associated with the keypad structure. The bezel has openings formed therethrough, and the openings are arrayed on the bezel to align with the keys when the bezel is positioned on the electronics device. When the bezel is in position, the keys extend through the openings and can be accessed by the user. The bezel, in combination with the keys, presents the user with a keypad surface that enables the user to conveniently depress keys and input information. Lettering and/or numbering can be formed on either the keys, the bezel, or both.
During normal operation of the electronics device, the bezel is in position on the housing. As the electronics device is used and exposed to conditions where dust or dirt is present, the dust or dirt can accumulate on the exposed surface of the bezel, on the exposed keys, on the backside of the bezel, and on the pliable protective structure under the bezel. The conforming nature of the polymeric material substantially prevents dirt, water, or other foreign materials from entering the inside of the housing through the keypad structure.
The keypad structure, along with the remaining portions of the electronics device, can be cleaned by removing the removable bezel from the housing. The front surface, the back surface, and the openings of the bezel can be cleaned when it has been removed from the housing. Removing the bezel also exposes the pliable protective structure conforming to the keys and the housing so that it can also be conveniently cleaned. After cleaning, the bezel can be repositioned so that the electronics device can be used again.
The removable bezel of the invention facilitates cleaning of electronics devices in ways that have not been possible in the prior art. Moreover, the use of the bezel in combination with the pliable protective structure that covers and conforms to the keys and the housing prevents water, dirt, or dust from entering the housing in the spaces that would otherwise exist between the keys and the housing in the absence of the invention. Thus, the present invention can prolong the use of electronics devices in adverse environments and can make existing electronics devices more adaptable to any desired conditions.
Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by the practice of the invention. The features and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instruments and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. These and other features of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, or may be learned by the practice of the invention as set forth hereinafter.